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Side-by-side financial comparison of KIRBY CORP (KEX) and Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. (ULCC). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Frontier Group Holdings, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($997.0M vs $851.8M, roughly 1.2× KIRBY CORP). KIRBY CORP runs the higher net margin — 10.8% vs 5.3%, a 5.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, KIRBY CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (6.2% vs -0.5%). KIRBY CORP produced more free cash flow last quarter ($265.2M vs $-113.0M). Over the past eight quarters, Frontier Group Holdings, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (7.4% CAGR vs 2.7%).

Kirby Corporation, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is the largest tank barge operator in the United States, transporting bulk liquid products throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, along all three U.S. Coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii. Products transported by Kirby include petrochemicals, black oil, refined petroleum products, and agricultural chemical products by tank barge. Kirby also owns and operates eight ocean-going barge and tug units transporting ...

Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. is an American telecommunications company with a fiber-optic network and cloud-based services owned by Verizon. It was previously known as Citizens Utilities Co., Citizens Communications Co., and Frontier Communications Corp.

KEX vs ULCC — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ULCC
ULCC
1.2× larger
ULCC
$997.0M
$851.8M
KEX
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
KEX
KEX
+6.7% gap
KEX
6.2%
-0.5%
ULCC
Higher net margin
KEX
KEX
5.5% more per $
KEX
10.8%
5.3%
ULCC
More free cash flow
KEX
KEX
$378.2M more FCF
KEX
$265.2M
$-113.0M
ULCC
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ULCC
ULCC
Annualised
ULCC
7.4%
2.7%
KEX

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Revenue
$851.8M
$997.0M
Net Profit
$91.8M
$53.0M
Gross Margin
Operating Margin
15.2%
4.9%
Net Margin
10.8%
5.3%
Revenue YoY
6.2%
-0.5%
Net Profit YoY
114.4%
-1.9%
EPS (diluted)
$1.68
$0.24

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$851.8M
$997.0M
Q3 25
$871.2M
$886.0M
Q2 25
$855.5M
$929.0M
Q1 25
$785.7M
$912.0M
Q4 24
$802.3M
$1.0B
Q3 24
$831.1M
$935.0M
Q2 24
$824.4M
$973.0M
Q1 24
$808.0M
$865.0M
Net Profit
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$91.8M
$53.0M
Q3 25
$92.5M
$-77.0M
Q2 25
$94.3M
$-70.0M
Q1 25
$76.0M
$-43.0M
Q4 24
$42.8M
$54.0M
Q3 24
$90.0M
$26.0M
Q2 24
$83.9M
$31.0M
Q1 24
$70.1M
$-26.0M
Operating Margin
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
15.2%
4.9%
Q3 25
14.8%
-8.7%
Q2 25
15.4%
-8.1%
Q1 25
13.4%
-5.0%
Q4 24
6.3%
4.5%
Q3 24
15.3%
2.0%
Q2 24
14.6%
2.6%
Q1 24
12.6%
-3.6%
Net Margin
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
10.8%
5.3%
Q3 25
10.6%
-8.7%
Q2 25
11.0%
-7.5%
Q1 25
9.7%
-4.7%
Q4 24
5.3%
5.4%
Q3 24
10.8%
2.8%
Q2 24
10.2%
3.2%
Q1 24
8.7%
-3.0%
EPS (diluted)
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$1.68
$0.24
Q3 25
$1.65
$-0.34
Q2 25
$1.67
$-0.31
Q1 25
$1.33
$-0.19
Q4 24
$0.74
$0.24
Q3 24
$1.55
$0.11
Q2 24
$1.43
$0.14
Q1 24
$1.19
$-0.12

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$78.8M
$671.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$919.3M
$620.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$3.4B
$491.0M
Total Assets
$6.0B
$7.2B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.27×
1.26×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$78.8M
$671.0M
Q3 25
$47.0M
$566.0M
Q2 25
$68.4M
$563.0M
Q1 25
$51.1M
$686.0M
Q4 24
$74.4M
$740.0M
Q3 24
$67.1M
$576.0M
Q2 24
$53.5M
$658.0M
Q1 24
$75.2M
$622.0M
Total Debt
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$919.3M
$620.0M
Q3 25
$1.0B
$673.0M
Q2 25
$1.1B
$565.0M
Q1 25
$1.1B
$512.0M
Q4 24
$874.9M
$507.0M
Q3 24
$978.6M
$474.0M
Q2 24
$1.0B
$455.0M
Q1 24
$1.1B
$469.0M
Stockholders' Equity
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$3.4B
$491.0M
Q3 25
$3.4B
$434.0M
Q2 25
$3.4B
$506.0M
Q1 25
$3.3B
$570.0M
Q4 24
$3.4B
$604.0M
Q3 24
$3.3B
$549.0M
Q2 24
$3.3B
$520.0M
Q1 24
$3.2B
$484.0M
Total Assets
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$6.0B
$7.2B
Q3 25
$6.1B
$6.7B
Q2 25
$6.1B
$6.5B
Q1 25
$6.0B
$6.5B
Q4 24
$5.9B
$6.2B
Q3 24
$5.9B
$5.8B
Q2 24
$5.9B
$5.7B
Q1 24
$5.8B
$5.2B
Debt / Equity
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
0.27×
1.26×
Q3 25
0.31×
1.55×
Q2 25
0.33×
1.12×
Q1 25
0.33×
0.90×
Q4 24
0.26×
0.84×
Q3 24
0.30×
0.86×
Q2 24
0.32×
0.88×
Q1 24
0.33×
0.97×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$312.2M
$-91.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$265.2M
$-113.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
31.1%
-11.3%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
5.5%
2.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.40×
-1.72×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$405.7M
$-600.0M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$312.2M
$-91.0M
Q3 25
$227.5M
$-215.0M
Q2 25
$93.9M
$-133.0M
Q1 25
$36.5M
$-86.0M
Q4 24
$247.4M
$87.0M
Q3 24
$206.5M
$-156.0M
Q2 24
$179.3M
$9.0M
Q1 24
$123.3M
$-22.0M
Free Cash Flow
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
$265.2M
$-113.0M
Q3 25
$160.3M
$-217.0M
Q2 25
$22.4M
$-166.0M
Q1 25
$-42.1M
$-104.0M
Q4 24
$150.7M
$73.0M
Q3 24
$130.1M
$-170.0M
Q2 24
$90.8M
$-22.0M
Q1 24
$42.2M
$-39.0M
FCF Margin
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
31.1%
-11.3%
Q3 25
18.4%
-24.5%
Q2 25
2.6%
-17.9%
Q1 25
-5.4%
-11.4%
Q4 24
18.8%
7.3%
Q3 24
15.7%
-18.2%
Q2 24
11.0%
-2.3%
Q1 24
5.2%
-4.5%
Capex Intensity
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
5.5%
2.2%
Q3 25
7.7%
0.2%
Q2 25
8.4%
3.6%
Q1 25
10.0%
2.0%
Q4 24
12.0%
1.4%
Q3 24
9.2%
1.5%
Q2 24
10.7%
3.2%
Q1 24
10.0%
2.0%
Cash Conversion
KEX
KEX
ULCC
ULCC
Q4 25
3.40×
-1.72×
Q3 25
2.46×
Q2 25
1.00×
Q1 25
0.48×
Q4 24
5.78×
1.61×
Q3 24
2.30×
-6.00×
Q2 24
2.14×
0.29×
Q1 24
1.76×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

KEX
KEX

Inland Transportation$379.2M45%
Power Generation$191.1M22%
Commercial And Industrial$149.4M18%
Coastal Transportation$102.5M12%
Oil And Gas$29.6M3%

ULCC
ULCC

Aircraft Fare$453.0M45%
Passenger Service Fees$227.0M23%
Passenger Baggage$177.0M18%
Passenger Seat Selection$69.0M7%
Other Passenger Revenue$36.0M4%
Other$35.0M4%

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